All,
I just picked up a plum rail board and had a few questions..

1. the frets under the largest strings appears to be shaved/ milled. I assume this is factory and not fret wear?

2 the dots are plum. is there a good/ recommended fix to make these more light to provide contrast?

3 I intend to switch this to dual bass. Is there a recommended string height for set up? and a recommendation on light/ med or heavy strings?

Thanks in advance!
Sean

Sean where are you in New England? I'm in southern Connecticut. If you can make it down here I can give you a free lesson to get you started.

Brett

Sean, just wanted to say congrats on getting the Railboard, and the plum color is just so very pretty!

I can answer question #1: yes, the frets are milled down further to let the big fat bass strings vibrate more and to keep them with that ever-so-close-touch action. Railboard probably has the lowest setup of any instrument I'm aware of, and that is by well-engineered design.

Dots I can't speak to. And when I ordered my Railboard, Emmett recommended medium gauge strings to me and I've been very pleased with them, but that was for Matched Reciprocal. I'll let more experienced Stickists (like Brett, hi!) help you there, but just wanted to say hi, and congratulations!

I'd be happy to take you up on that.
Thanks!

Which leads me to a rather humorous story, I still regret....

A long time ago, I was working in a music store in Boston. This guy came in . He was playing some REALLY cool stuff, we started talking and we kind of hit it off. As it is not that common in a music store to actually be impressed and intrigued with people's playing (trust me here, even though we were right near Berkley). So we got talking and it turned out he was one of the Crafty Guitarists. Really nice great guy. Anyway. We get to talking and I mention that I am a very frustrated aspiring Stick player. Well he opens up is little book and hands me a number, And says, "you really need to call this guy. He's in NYC but, he is a fantastic teacher. And it would be well worth you taking the ride down there".

Well, I took the number. And put it away. And thought that would be great. But it's just too far.. And I never called or anything. Well, next thing I know, I hear that name again. Whaddaya know? Trey Gunn is now touring with KC.

Ug.. missed that boat. HARD.

Well, Trey Gunn lives here in Seattle! I take regular lessons with him. He also does Skype! Google him and contact him!! Also, Greg Howard is a tremendous teacher.... He can also help you with Set Up as well. AND Steve Adelson is also a great teacher and player as well. Spend some $$ on lessons with these guys and you will fast be ahead of the game. Congrats and welcome to the community!!

Good advice. I will definitely consider it. Never thought of lessons via skype.

Question #3: I play DBR on a 12-string, I use med. strings, the same as i use on bass. Greg Howard has a video for DBR conversion. It's only the Melody side you'll be changing. WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN from where you start so you can go back easily if you change your mind. My Stick was ordered as DBR so Emmett set mine up, last year I again explored Classic tuning, then went back to DBR. It was a piece of cake, having written down the changes made.

It is my understanding, could be wrong, that the Railboards are less adjustable in this way than the wooden Sticks. If you want DBR, I suggest making certain SE knows that. My Stick is 12-Grand Classic, which I have never deviated from, so I can't claim expertise in this area.

Same bridge, same "nut". If anything I would expect Aluminum to be as strong or stronger than wood. And a shorter scale would be less tension than a 36" scale.

Not to be argumentative, but why would it not work?

I admit I am responding with incomplete knowledge, which leaves more questions than answers. I think the nut is cut more specifically per tuning on the Railboards to complement the increased precision of the whole instrument. The Railboards, as you say, should be much more stable and rugged than the wooden counterparts.